(PC, PS3, Xbox 360) Publisher: Electronic Arts Developer: Starbreeze Studios Release date: February 21, 2012
If we’ve learned anything over the years, it’s that the corporations of the future will not be our friends. In the world of Syndicate the same holds true. Though its roots lie in a 1993 PC strategy game in which you played as the corporation, here you start down the totem pole, a bit — you’re on the ground, shanking fools for your bosses. The cyberpunk motif comes through in the style of weapons you wield (one rifle bends its bullets trajectories, so you can fire at enemies around corners) and your upgrade actions (jam a probe into a dead enemy’s ear canal for new skills), as well as the overall aesthetic. You can take down enemies by hacking their cybernetic implant chips and turning them on one another, augmented vision and remote hacking of elevators and other electrical devices to aid you in combat. This stylish shooter looks gorgeous, and could be perfect if you’ve already beaten last year’s superb Deus Ex: Human Revolution and you're itching for something a little faster paced. There’s also a separate co-op campaign with missions reimagined from the PC release, a demo is available now on Xbox Live or the PlayStation Store.
